Category: Windows

  • Why Microsoft is wrong to discontinue Small Business Server

    As an IT consultant who delivers services to small and medium businesses, I have spent a vast amount of time with Microsoft’s Small Business Server product range. Early versions of SBS (the original “Back Office” incarnation and SBS 2000) had various quirks and problems. Since SBS 2003, however, Small Business Server has been a refined, solid…

  • Multiple monitor improvements are coming to Windows 8

    The Consumer Preview of Windows 8 was a bit of a nightmare when used on multiple monitors with the taskbar stretched across both displays, and offered no obvious reasoning behind the odd design. Luckily for us (meaning the collective Windows user base), Microsoft has confirmed via their Windows 8 Blog that positive changes will be coming to…

  • Microsoft Office 365: Reasons for Caution

    I came very close to calling this article “Why Office 365 Sucks.” I refrained from doing so because I think the cloud-based office collaboration suite CAN be a good fit for some small businesses. However, as an IT consultant working with small and medium enterprises (SMEs), I will think very carefully before I let it…

  • Microsoft Says Farewell to Aero Glass in Windows 8

    When I first booted up into Windows 8 with my beloved Samsung Focus mobile phone at my side, I was appalled by the jarring visual differences when switching back and forth from the Metro start screen to the traditional Windows desktop view. On one hand, there was this amazingly simple Start screen with a bold…

  • Windows 8 Boots Too Quickly to Be Interrupted

    We previously told you that Windows 8 could manage a cold boot in eight seconds flat, and that still holds true, but now there are reports that an SSD-equipped PC can manage it in under seven seconds. It’s not a huge difference in boot time, but it does create a minor and rather curious problem.…

  • Windows 8 ‘Release Preview’ Brings New Apps and Updates the Old Ones

    Windows 8 ‘Release Preview’ Brings New Apps and Updates the Old Ones

    As we assumed when various apps in the Windows 8 Consumer Preview were marked with an “App Preview” tag, the core Metro apps have been updated in the Windows 8 Release Preview. The updated applications feature some improvements to the user interface (there were some apps that really needed it), a unified app settings bar,…

  • Microsoft Small Business Server 2011: A Techie’s First Impressions

    Microsoft’s Small Business Server features prominently in my life as an IT consultant. Its combination of Windows Server, Microsoft Exchange and SharePoint at a low price-point makes it a compelling proposition for smaller firms. Dislike of Windows Vista has resulted in many of my clients continuing to maintain systems running SBS 2003 and Windows XP.…

  • Microsoft invests $300 million in Barnes & Noble; looks to spin off Nook business

    In what may be considered an interesting and somewhat odd move considering past events, Microsoft has announced that they will be investing $300 million into a “strategic partnership” with Barnes & Noble to work on the future of e-reading by creating a whole new subsidiary of Barnes & Noble that will focus on all things…

  • How to give your computer a good spring cleaning this year

    It’s that time of year, folks! The weather is changing and that means it’s time to do some spring cleaning on your computer at home. If you’re like the millions of computer owners out there, you most likely haven’t run malware scans in months and there’s probably random, unused files just sitting their collecting dust…

  • 4 Reasons Why We are NOT in a Post-PC Age

    Sales of desktop PCs and laptops are falling. It’s impossible to read any technical media without hearing about the “death of the PC.” And both Apple and Microsoft are soon to release operating systems that seek to merge the features of the computer operating system with those available on tablet devices. All this evidence mounts…